Sweets and Bitters
by Morbidly Obscure
Summary: Ciel x Doll. Fifteen promp-based snapshots of their short-lived relationship.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello: The Characters' First Meeting**

"'Ello there," She chirped, loud and bright and impossible to ignore. "Finian, isit?"

A wide indigo eye blinked before registering the child who'd spoken. "Yes...Hello."

He spoke quietly; she figured he was shy. Doll herself was never shy, but then, she'd never been caught in a circle of unfamiliar people, forced to prove herself. She wished she could tell this boy that these people were her family, and that they were nice, but there was no time. Already Dagger was handing this Finian the throwing knives. All Doll could say was, "Hold it like a hammer, and keep your wrist stiff."

"Thanks." That deep blue orb cut to her again, and a small smile quirked the boy's lips—not like he was grateful, but like he was enjoying a private joke.

That look cut to her heart like Finian's blade sunk into the target:

_Wunk._

Bullseye.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**Truth: What One Character Really Thinks of the Other**

"Please, Brother Joker, _Pleeeeease_," Doll hopped along to keep up with the ringleader's pace, hands clasped in prayer—the most contrite little circus girl who'd never gone to church.

"Playing at being a boy is one thing," The red-headed performer said in an uncharacteristically serious tone, "but sharing a room with one is another."

"Ugh!" Doll stuck her out her tongue and scrunched her face in a perfect mask of frustration.

At this, Joker laughed and patted the girl's head, mussing her shaggy, cinnamon brown hair. Doll scowled back playfully and nudged the strands back into place, careful to cover the shiny pink scar that warped her right eye. Finian—Smile now—had an eye patch, she'd seen it. She wondered who or what had done that to him, made him half-blind like she was. Doll thought it funny that between the two of them, they had one perfectly good pair of eyes: she with the left and Smile with the right.

Doll knew that she would wear Joker down by the end of the night; she didn't ask for much, but now all she wanted was a chance to get close to the beautiful young boy with the crisp voice and the secretive smile.

In a word, Doll was fascinated.


	2. Chapter 2

**Comfort: One Character Hugs the Other**

Back in the tent, Smile was silent and shivering. His shirt was on the ground, oozing icy water onto the hard-packed dirt. Doll could see every bone along his chest, defined ridges and shadows on creamy flesh. Somewhere out of view, an angry scarlet mark announced itself on that stark white canvas. The shape of the scar was perplexing to Doll—a perfect circle surrounding a cryptic squiggle—but she knew a burn mark when she saw one.

"S'okay, Smile," she said gently, announcing herself to the boy on the bed, "We all 'ave our secrets 'ere."

Upon reaching the foot of the bed, Doll did not set up to her own bunk, but instead plopped down beside Smile and threw her arms around him, pressing her chest against his side. At the moment, she did not care whether or not he felt the faint swell of her chest, usually invisible beneath her loose jacket and tunic. He was so delicate, and so _cold_; a few beads of water had frozen in his hair, glistening now like diamond chips. Doll squeezed tight, as though she could force her warmth into his tiny, turgid form.

Smile did not yell, or shove her off as he had at the baths, but he did not return the embrace either. "Freckles," he said after almost ten seconds had elapsed, "Would you please get off of me?"

"Yeah," Doll said, smiling into her tentmate's neck because at least he was talking again, "Just...take care of yerself, okay?"

"Sure," Smile muttered, turning towards his pillow, away from Doll as the girl hopped off the cot and scrambled up the ladder.

"G'night, Smile," Doll said, grinning tenderly down at the boy.

Whether he knew it or not, Doll felt sure Smile had been needing that hug for a long time.


	3. Chapter 3

**Kiss: One Character Kisses the Other**

At the end of the performance, Doll's mind was all adrenaline and cotton candy. She hopped-skipped-and-jumped along the path, where yellow lantern glow and strung faerie lights illuminated exotic beasts in cages, games of luck and skill, and vendors selling sweets and savories. Doll had seen it all a billion times, but she would never get sick of it. Just as she was passing the dark, box-like construction where "oddities" like two-headed lizards, wolfman footprints, fossilized monsters, and dragon scales were kept, a familiar voice stopped Doll in her tracks.

"Come look at this."

Doll grinned ruefully and shook her head, stepping into the attraction. "Smile, I know 'zactly what's in there, an' none of it's—"

A mouth covering Doll's, soft and wet in the musty dimness. Their lips molded against each other like clay. Doll's eyes closed and she felt every point of contact between her and the boy she was currently kissing:

_Smile's hand spread like a fan on the small of her back._

_His arm resting beside her own._

_The touch of his knee against her bare thigh._

_The slight curve of his hipbone under her left palm._

The whole kiss lasted fifteen seconds and consisted solely of their lips, rubbing together slow and soft. They eased apart, shivering, and sunk down against the dark clapboard wall behind them, unable to trust their legs to hold.

"Why?" Doll asked quietly; she was never speechless, but this was close.

"I've never kissed a girl before," The boy replied, and Doll imagined that he was looking at her through the gloom, smiling that little secret smile, "and I didn't think that I could do any better for my first time than a Princess."

Doll laughed, and Smile's hand found hers in the darkness, covering it with his slender fingers.

From the cobwebbed shadows of the attraction, one lizard watched them with four unblinking eyes.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**Date: The Characters Go On a Date**

The twist and curl of Smile's fingers through her own felt strange but pleasant. She gave him her brightest beam as they traipsed across the broad expanse of field at the edge of the circus.

"Don'tcha worry 'bout a thing, Smile," Doll reassured her friend, "They're slow an' gentle, like giant tortoises.

Smile wrinkled his nose, and Doll giggled. She hopped up the yellow-and-red painted steps, then looked down at her companion expectantly. "I'll...catch the next one," The boy said, one eyebrow raised in skepticism.

Doll shrugged, letting her disappointment roll off. "Suit yourself," she said, just before jumping atop the back of a passing elephant. Rather than sitting down on the plodding gray beast, Doll spread her legs out wide and straight as though she were on her accustomed tightrope, then slowly sank down to a split. Unlike most uneventful evenings, Doll was dressed in her circus finery: a spangled white leotard with a snowy fluff of tulle extending from the bottom, just barely brushing her thighs. It was the outfit she'd worn for practices, until she insisted upon doing them in tunics and trousers. Her off white thigh high stockings and leotard bottom took the bend and strain of the split with ease, unlike the resistance her trousers always gave.

From her sunken position, Doll looked over her bare shoulder to scold Smile for being such a wuss, but instead was taken aback. Smile was perched quite regally on the back of the elephant behind her, smirking in a way that clearly said, "I told you so."

"Thought you were scared of heights," Doll teased, glad to see her friend going along with this idea that he'd originally called ridiculous.

"No, I said I didn't _like _them," Smile replied archly, "I'm not _scared_ of anything."

"Not _anything_?" Doll tilted her head. She pulled her legs to the front of her, curling up in a cannonball position.

"What's there to be scared of?" Smile returned, curiously solemn.

Doll's lips turned up as she melted back into a standing position on her elephant. "Nothin' I guess," She said, crossing the gray expanse of back in two long, graceful steps. Then, she took a flying leap across the gap, dodging distended ivory tusks and landing before Smile with a grand "Ta-da!"

"You're mad," Smile said as Doll sat back down, straightening her tulle. His arms wound around the freckled girl's midsection, as though to keep her pinned in place; as though to keep her from leaving him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Run!: A bit of action with the characters**

Ciel gave the storekeeper his brightest grin, all coated in sugar and innocence. "Pardon me, sir. Could you please assist me? I'm having trouble reaching that box...the large one, on the top shelf."

The man was charmed enough by the blue-eyed boy's sweet face, brilliant smile, and polite-and-proper speech to ignore his cheap (but certainly not ragged or dirty) clothes. "The Funtom Holiday Assortment?"

"Is that what it's called?" Ciel blinked, dark lashes flickering up and down, "My mum just told me to get the one with the big blue ribbon."

The shopkeeper laughed good-naturedly and walked around the candy counter to the showcase. Ciel followed close behind, glanced once over his shoulder as the clerk reached up, then focused his eyes on the candy box. _Hurry up, Doll. _To Ciel's relief, a stepping-stool was required for the squat shop-keeper to reach the prized assortment. All to soon though, he'd found the stool, dragged it over, and stepped atop. It wasn't until he gotten back down and turned to handed off the box that the shop-keeper noticed Doll in the corner, stuffing a worn leather bag with penny candy.

Before the clerk could open his mouth, Ciel shouted "Run!" And bolted for the door, enormous candy parcel tucked tightly beneath one arm.

The shopkeeper was shouting now, but Ciel didn't dare slow to make out the words. Despite his head-start, Doll was at his side in seconds. She was faster and more graceful than Ciel, with longer legs, stronger lungs, and a life of physical exertion behind her. Still, she did not overtake Ciel; instead, she beamed at him, grabbed his hand, and urged, "Come on!"

Ciel's legs burned to keep up with her, and his breaths came too hard and too fast for his own comfort. By the time the clerk had stopped chasing them, the dark-haired boy was on the verge of collapsing. Instead, he galloped alongside Doll until they tumbled in unison onto a grassy stretch of park. Doll was laughing, and even Smile was unable to contain a few chuckles.

When they'd both caught their breath, Doll dumped the contents of her bag and pockets onto the dirt. Sugar and wrappings glistened like coins and the bright colored pieces winked like exotic gems in the weak sun. Ciel was instantly reminded of a pirate's chest of stolen treasure. Doll's hands—delicate but lined with callouses—riffled through the pillaged pile, selecting two pastel colored lollies.

Strawberry for her, Caramel for Ciel.

Doll handed Ciel his lollipop and said, "To us."

Ciel's lips twitched. "To us," he agreed with mock solemnity, touching his lolly to Doll's in a toast.

As they nibbled leisurely through their ill-gotten bounty, Ciel couldn't help but smirk at the fact that he'd essentially just stolen from _himself._

_._

_._

_._

**Oops: The characters get in trouble together**

"I don't suppose either of you had _any _idea how much trouble you would be in when we caught you?" Joker arched an ironic orange brow at the children before him, their cherubic faces turned down in false contrition.

When the ringleader had finished, Smile and Doll shared a sideways glance.

"Well, in all honesty sir..." Smile said, meeting Joker's eyes for the first time, "we hadn't planned on getting caught."

"T'was just bad luck, Sister Wendy steppin' in ta fix her dress," Doll grumbled.

Joker fixed them with a disapproving look, "You _know_ how Peter is, Doll. If I hadn't told him I'd deal with you two, you'd have a miniature, furious acrobat chasing you down at this moment—"

Unable to maintain a straight face any longer, Doll broke out into a fit of giggles. Even Smile seemed amused by the mental image.

Joker sighed; it was hopeless. "Okay...just...put their clothes back, and...we won't speak of this again."

Suddenly solemn, Smile and Doll nodded briskly and scrambled out of Joker's tent as fast as possible. Finally alone, Joker allowed himself to chuckle. Replacing all the tiny trapeze artists' clothing with those little doll outfits they sold at toy stores...it _was_ pretty funny.


	5. Chapter 5

**Tender: a tender moment between the characters**

Ciel saw her, watching that happy family in the midway; the mother and father bought a carton of popped corn to share between them, and a gauzy pink fairy floss for their teddy-bear toting toddler. There was a time when such a scene would have made Ciel grind his teeth, but now he felt nothing. The same could not be said for Doll.

The tightrope walker stared longingly at the trio, aquamarine eye sad and wistful. Ciel considered avoiding her, ducking off and heading back from whence he'd come, but he found it impossible. Doll did not seem to notice when the dark-haired boy approached, but her eye flashed briefly with surprise as Ciel took her chin lightly in his hand and turned it toward him.

"What's that face about?"

"Uh. Hm? Nothin'," Doll replied, forcing a cheery grin.

Ciel rolled his eyes at the poor cover. Matter-of-factly, he said, "My parents died when I was very young."

"Oh. Yeah. I mean, Mine too," Doll said, looking away.

Ciel caught the lie instantly. He also caught the hesitation beforehand, the shame on her face, and the way her hand flew to her right eye, the one she always kept covered. He'd seen it once, when her bangs fell out of place—that hideous scar.

"You don't need them," Ciel said, "and you can't go on thinking that you do."

Doll sighed. "I know. Sometimes I just wish..."

"Wishes are useless," Ciel gave her a look, "now come on. Let's get a distraction."

When Smile set off across the midway, Doll followed instantly. They did not have to pay for their fairy floss—worker's privilege. Smile took the wand and pulled off a feathery clump, handing it to Doll. No sooner had she popped the candy in her mouth than Doll felt Smile's lips brush her cheek, quick and sweet as the melt of saccharine fluff in her mouth.

.

.

**Morning: The characters wake up together**

Ciel woke up with a scream dying on his lips, an arm stretched across his stomach, and a head resting on his chest. Whenever Ciel fell ill, his dreams were filled with cages and blood and masked faces, and tonight was no exception. His cry had not roused the girl curled around his side, but she started to wake as Ciel burst into hacking coughs.

"Smile?" Doll's eyes were foggy with sleep, and her long, dark brown lashes fluttered up and down. Ciel wondered how he ever could have been fooled by her boyish facade.

"You know," Ciel smirked, "this is the first time I've ever slept with a girl."

Doll laughed. She was relieved, because if Smile was well enough to be sarcastic, he couldn't be that sick. Still grinning, she nuzzled her face into his chest. "Sh. Still time t' sleep, Smile."

Groggily, Ciel nodded, but deep down he knew it wasn't true.

_There will never be enough time._


End file.
